College Application Essays

“Eureka.” This is a word that many say has changed history. Its utterance conveys a sort of revelation, a single moment where a problem and its solution become, all at once, perfectly clear, where nothing stands between person and perception. The experience this word represents is proclaimed by many to be the driving force behind great minds and great ideas. However, I can’t say that I’ve ever known such an experience. There has never been a single moment...

Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

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Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate — and us — know you better.
“Are you a virgin?”
A middle-aged man, dressed only in a tight golden speedo, looked at me intensely and awaited my reply. It was midnight on Halloween in a small historic theater on Main Street, and I had no idea what was going on.
Just then, the movie started, and a gigantic pair of plump, red lips...

Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

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Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development.
As he spoke, I imagined his words transforming themselves into physical shapes before me. With each additional syllable, another fragment appeared, latching onto the previous one to form an ever-lengthening strand of blocks in front of him. This is, at least, was what was going on in my mind as Émile, the leader of the local university’s French group,...

Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay

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How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
It sits at the back of the least-populated hallway in the building. To the unsuspecting observer, it seems rather unassuming, with its plain red door labeled “Ms. Jefferson, Room 309” and cream plastered, still undecorated outside wall. But inside this small, cramped room, something...

Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school

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Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or artists.
The movie Fight Club, because it blew my mind.
The novelist John Green, because he somehow captures the teenage condition despite being a thirty-five-year-old man.
The band MGMT, because psychedelic indie rock makes me want to become a hippie.
The book Regenesis, because mad science is sometimes the coolest science.
What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy?
Le Monde, to sharpen my language skills.
Wikipedia, to learn about obscure...

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College Admissions Advice

What I’d change about my application process

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Honestly, I would have applied to fewer schools. I definitely had this "FOMO" (fear of missing out) mentality when approaching college admissions that caused me to apply to far too many reach schools that wouldn't actually have been a good fit for me (case in point: Dartmouth and Harvard). The whole experience was made so much...

How to increase chances at my school

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Don't be boring. Specifically, spice up your essays and make them fun, interesting, and truly yourself. However, I remember trying to follow that same advice myself with the occasional result of creating essays that were fake and superficial -- don't go that route either. To truly write a good, non-boring...

List of schools I interviewed with and my interview experience

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Here is a list of my college interviews and my comments on them:
Carleton College -- This was my first interview, and I think it went really well! It was very relaxed and took place at a nearby coffee shop. We basically just chatted about my interviewer's experience at Carleton and why I was interested in going there. I felt bad that I never ended up submitting my application to Carleton after getting into UChicago Early Action, but... oh well.
MIT -- This interview was... okay. My interviewer was a man who went to MIT many many years ago, so...